Nigerian football descended into a renewed round of chaos on Monday after Christopher Giwa, who claimed to have won the NFF elections of 2014, took control of the body's headquarters.
Giwa, who is under a worldwide FIFA ban from all football activities, has long claimed that he is the rightfully elected president of the Nigeria Football Federation, and says a Nigerian Supreme Court ruling from last April and a High Court judgement in June gave credence to his claims.
That election, which supposedly ushered Giwa into office, is not recognised by FIFA, which pointed to third-party interference as its reason for the non-recognition and threatened to ban Nigeria from all football activities if Giwa continued to parade himself as NFF president.
However, his claims were given further backing by the Nigerian Sports Minister Solomon Dalung, who issued a statement on Monday morning directing the NFF to obey the court judgement pending determination of the case
"I have been directed to notify you of the Orders dated June 5th 2018 made by Honorable Justice M. H. Kurya sitting at the Federal High Court Jos in respect of the above mentioned suit between Yahaya Adama vs. Alhaji Aminu Maigari which states that the election of the NFF held on August 26, 2014 under the leadership of Amb. Chris Giwa be given recognition pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed in this case and that the purported ban of the Executive Committee elected on August 26, 2014 from football activities of the NFF is unconstitutional, null and void," Dalung said in the press statement circulated via email to media.
NFF president Amaju Pinnick is currently in Russia on FIFA duties, and is making no official comment, however KweséESPN have been informed that FIFA have been notified of the situation.